The Finish Line

Tasks and assignments piled high Due dates and deadlines on the rise Not a moment to stop, to think of life

I race through my time: The days just pass me by, The weekends are a blur– Weekdays even more.

I drown in my time: I am drifting far away. There is no time– I feel To make dua’a and pray. My prayers are like exercise– No longer do I value The meaning of sujood, The meaning of khushu’.

I sink through my time: Reciting Quran mindlessly, Chanting istighfar before falling asleep For my lack of sincerity. My life is missing depth I was on my mark, not set.

I stumble through my time: I have a goal in sight, It’s the object of my life. But what if I am wrong? Is my priority a lie?

Sitting at a khutbah Which my parents dragged me to, I receive a wake-up call, A chance for faith to be renewed: “We all return to Allah regardless of our deeds, We are all lowered into the same dirt Whether we rushed through our prayers mindlessly, Whether we lived our lives for a mere degree, That all is only temporary– Our end goal should be for Allah to be pleased.” The imam’s speech shakes me.

As the adhan sounds through the masjid, As unity fills the hall and not a sound can be heard, I bow my head– for the first time comprehending the words. Allah is greater So much greater It is as though the words were meant for me. Only for me

With priorities redefined, I catch up to my time; And standing at the finish line, I get a hold of time.

There are times in our life when everything seems blurry, our lives lack purpose, and we feel extremely lost. We seem to be engulfed in the many obligations and pursuits of this life. It is in those times that we need to refocus and re-evaluate ourselves, our intentions, and our goals. This poem depicts the race of life: the race that we all stumble and falter in. Our focus is hindered, and our priorities aren’t straight. However, after being reminded and attempting to make things right, it is understood that once you set obeying Allah’s commands as your priority, everything else will fall into place. I was inspired to write this after having a conversation with my mother about my future goals. She said, “Your main goal is to follow Allah’s commands. Everything else comes after that.” The main message I was trying to get across is that Allah is greater than our worldly pursuits. He must be our priority if we are ever to be successful.

“Everyone has a direction towards which he turns; so race to [all that is] good. Allah will bring you all together wherever you might be, for nothing is beyond His power.” (Surah Al-Baqarah: 148)

Maryam Ahmed is a high school senior living in Dallas, TX. She began writing for MYM when she was 13. In her free time (which is not very often), Maryam enjoys biking, photography, and reading. This fall, she will be heading to SMU, insha'Allah, to study Political Science, Human Rights and Journalism. She hopes to attend Law School after that. Maryam enjoys reading the literature on MYM because it inspires her to be a better Muslim. She hopes that by contributing to this community she can inspire other Muslim youth.